Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Batgirl #19 Review
(SPOILERS)

By: Mike Ray
www.facebook.com/finaldraftproductions

I will admit that I haven't really been into the New 52 Batgirl series, but after the 'Death Of The Family' I think Batgirl
has really picked up. This issue is a must read for anyone that has
been keeping up with this series. A lot of secrets are revealed and we
get to witness the loss of one of Batgirl's biggest allies. This issue
is also very gruesome and violent which makes it even more dramatic.

Barbara
attempts to come back home to her room mate Alyssa, who at first isn't
to impressed to see her, but then takes her in with open arms as Barbara
spills her guts to Alyssa about her horrific past. We are then taken to
the main focal point of this issue: Barbara's brother James Jr. which
I'm not a big fan of. I feel that he almost resembles someone that is
from the Matrix and also appears to not really look the part of a
villain. There are a lot of flashbacks to when Barbara and James Jr.
were kids and how much they loved horror flicks, which of course may have helped turn James Jr. into a psychopath killer.

Sampere's
artwork was great in this issue, especially during the dramatic scenes.
The story really begins to unfold and get good when James Jr. meets his
mother at the bridge and his sister Barbara (Batgirl) shows up and we
see a well written series of panels. James takes his mother and holds a
knife to her throat which causes Batgirl to throw a batarang at James
causing him to fall off the bridge to his death. I was so happy to see
this character go (for now - in the DC Universe it seems everyone makes a
comeback). I have not been very fond of this character in the New 52
series and, as I said above, he just didn’t seem to fit in and look the
part.

The
issue ends after James falls off the bridge and we see Barbara and
James' father Commissioner Gordon pull a gun on Batgirl after murdering
his son. Batgirl of course disappears and realizes that she is now an
only child and perhaps an orphan after causing the death of her own flesh and blood.

Again, this is a must read for anyone following this series or in this case for anyone that is a Batman New 52 fan. I
can't wait to see what happens next in this series and how Barbara is
going to explain her actions against her brother and how Commissioner
Gordon will take it. I give this issue a 9/10 simply because the
story is terrific and the artwork is excellent!